


I'm Such A Fool For Your Love

by Write_With_Me



Series: What We Do For Love - Spierfield Week [6]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Homophobia, M/M, Spierfield, Spierfield Day 6, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_With_Me/pseuds/Write_With_Me
Summary: Day 6 Spierfield - Fake Dating AUBram needs Simons help when he accidentally comes out to his mum and tells her he has a boyfriend as a way of getting out of being set up with someone at his Aunts wedding. Can Simon and Bram work together well enough to get away with the lie while also hiding their real feelings from each other?





	I'm Such A Fool For Your Love

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, Everyone!
> 
> I am so sorry its been so long since I've updated but loads has changed recently and I ain't gonna lie my mental health has been on a serious rollercoaster! But I'm back now (hopefully) and I hope this fic makes up for me not being here (Boy its like the longest week ever right?) As always please let me know what you think in the comments, if you like it leave a kudos and any advice you guys have got is always appreciated! 
> 
> Much love!  
> M xx

“I can’t just go up and ask him that Garett” Bram hissed to his best friend “he’ll think I'm insane”

“Oh I’m sorry do you have a better idea? You got yourself into this mess remember” retorted Garret “Face it Greenfield this is your only semi-decent idea left so suck it up”

Bram stuttered for a moment “I just…I can’t…I know and you're right but I…I can’t”

“Okay Bram spill, whats the real deal here, there's more going on here than you fighting your pride and asking Spier for help so whats going on?”

Bram stared at his best friend in disbelief “How do you do that like seriously? Is it some sort of Jedi Mind trick you can do”

Garrett just snorted “Please, if I had Jedi powers do you really think I’d spend my time looking into my best friends feelings when I could be robbing banks or something?”

Bram gave his friend a flat stare

“Okay fine, but that's still not saying I wouldn't have better things to do, anyway wait you changed the topic, whats the deal Greenfield?”

Bram cursed silently, usually once he got Garett monologuing about star wars he was safe for a while, Garrett was clearly on his game today though. He’d been hoping to hold onto this particular secret a bit longer if he was honest, having only just conquered one of them was he really ready for another, he felt like a mountaineer that had just crested one mountain only to discover a larger one ahead, or a deep-sea diver who had just come back up for air and immediately had to go under again or…maybe he was thinking of too many metaphors for his situation?

Bram snapped out of his trance to find Garett just staring at him expectantly. Damn it.

“Look man does it matter?”

“I mean hell I'm curious but if you really don't want to tell me that's chill Bro, but considering he's the only other gay guy we both know, you haven't got an option when it comes to telling him your situation”

Bram sighed, thinking back to the chain of events that had led him to this moment

_****Flashback to three days ago**** _

“Abraham, honey can I speak with you a minute?”

“Sure Mum whats up?”

“You know we have your Aunts wedding in a couple of weeks, don't you?”

Bram nodded

“Well your Aunt had the wonderful pleasure of informing me that her wonderful husband to be has a niece who happens to be bringing her best friend with her”

Bram just looked on confused

“Her best friend who happens to be single, top of all her classes, likes soccer and enjoys reading”  
Bram’s eyes widened as he finally caught on to what his mother was suggesting

“Oh, um no thanks Mum tell them that's really kind but I’m not interested right now and honestly I am 100% okay and there is no need and please don't let this happen”

“Bram honey I’m not saying you have to get married or anything but what would the harm in meeting someone and getting to know them be, who knows you two might get along great and find it goes really well”

“No mum please no, I don't want, geez, just no thank you okay, thank you but no thank you, I am perfectly happy, just no okay”

“Honey its fine, whats wrong with just meeting her, honestly I think you're just overreacting a bit-“

“Mum, I'm gay and I have a boyfriend I don't need setting up okay”

Bram slapped a hand to his mouth as his mums' eyes went wide. Shit, he thought to himself, while he didn't regret coming out to his mum he knew that the boyfriend comment was about to become the biggest issue. His mum was silent for a few moments

“Okay well this is certainly new information to take in, um thank you for getting up the courage to tell me I’m sorry I pushed so hard about the girl I never even considered that you might well…anyway thank you for telling me”

Bram let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave when there was a sudden sharp cry from behind him

“Wait…BOYFRIEND?”

Bram loved his mother dearly but had that really taken so long to sink in?

“Urm yeah, a boyfriend” he managed to mutter

“Well they better be coming to the wedding then” his mother all but demanded “I can't wait to meet them”

Bram just shot a weak grin in her direction, he couldn't wait to meet them either

_****Flashback Ends**** _

“Look, man, just do it while he’s alone, considering how he’s always surrounded by his friends this is like your golden opportunity”

“Alright, alright fine I’m going now”

With a crick of his neck and a roll of his shoulders to brace himself for the awkward conversation, he was about have Bram headed over to Simon who was stood sorting through his locker. Bram took a deep breath before clearing his throat to make his presence known

“Hey um Simon”

Simon startled at the sound of his voice before spinning round to face Bram, when Simon saw who it was his face lit up in a megawatt grin and his eyes seemed to turn to shooting stars that never died. Bram shook himself and told himself to get a grip, Simon was friendly with everyone, he gave everyone that look, right?

“Hey, Bram!” Simon greeted enthusiastically “whats up?”

I have a bit of an awkward question for you but I really need your help and it is completely okay if you say no and I won't be offended and honestly it's fine if you can’t or don't want to or you can just kick me now for being so stupid and-“

“Bram, Bram! You’re spiralling dude, whats up? You can ask me anything you know that, but um if you need help with your grades I am not the guy to go to, in fact, that's usually the other way round. Speaking of which hey! I never thanked you for helping me get that great grade in English! My sentence fragments have improved greatly apparently and wait okay you wanted to ask something and now I’m rambling sorry”

Both boys grinned at each other sheepishly and Bram cleared his throat again and tried to ignore the sound of Garett chuckling softly in the background

“Right yeah okay here goes…okay so i kinda came out to my mum over the weekend and told her I had a boyfriend when she tried to set me up with someone coming to my aunts wedding in a couple of weeks and I panicked and said I had a boyfriend and now she wants me to bring him to the wedding but the thing is I don't have a boyfriend and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind pretending to be my boyfriend for like a day”

Bram paused for breath

“I completely understand if you say no or don't want to be friends anymore but I was really desperate and you're the only one who I could think of to help me and…well yeah that's it I guess, sorry I’ll just go”

Bram turned to leave but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder

“Woah Bram you gotta give a guy a second, okay, that was so many words so fast I’d have to be on an oreo rush to even keep up with that.

Bram smiled softly

“Okay let me see if I got this right” Simon ran through a list on his fingers “Mum tries to set you up with girl, you tell mum your gay and have a boyfriend, mum wants to meet said boyfriend at aunts wedding in two weeks, you don't have the actual boyfriend and want me to play the part for the day, did I get all that right?”

Bram nodded impressed “yeah that's the solid basics of it, but I completely understand that you don't want to I mean we’re barely even friends right I'm just the guy that steals your fries at lunch”

“Bram will you shut up for a second, of course, I’ll help you out your dork and of course you’re my friend! You don't think I let just anyone steal my fries do you?” Simon finished with a wink

Bram stood there dumbfounded for a second as what Simon said sunk in “Wait you’ll help?!?” he all but exclaimed

“Of course I will you dummy, now I’m really sorry to cut this short but sadly I have class to get to, I’ll see you later and we can talk more then okay?”

Bram just nodded, Simon once again shot him that megawatt grin “cool, I’ll see you later then! By Bram” he shot a small glance and small smile over Bram’s shoulder “Bye Garett” In a way that made it known that he had been aware of Garett eavesdropping the whole time. Garett who clearly had no shame shot back a cheery “Bye Spier” and a small salute in his direction. With one last smile at Bram, Simon was gone.  
“Well damn Greenfeld, now I get why asking him was so difficult for you,” Garett said as he came up behind Bram

Bram whipped around to face his best friend, his face blushing a dark crimson “What are you talking about man”

“Oh come on Greenfeld don't try and play coy with me, you like the Spier kid don't you like like him I mean”

“Will you please keep your voice down” Bram hissed “its bad enough you know I don't need the school having that information either”

“Geez man chill out, from what I see the feeling isn't one-sided”

This drew Bram up short “What do you mean?” He questioned

“Oh you can't be serious, dude his face lit up like it was Christmas when he saw you, I’ve never seen anyone else get that smile off him before”

Bram blushed even harder, “He’s that friendly with everyone, I’m nothing special”

Garett sighed “Damn, and I thought the heteros were bad at picking up on flirting cues”

Bram hit his friend lightly on the shoulder “come on, we’ve got study hall right now and you definitely need it”

Garett just hummed.

The rest of the day seemed to pass in a bit of a blur after that, an emergency soccer meeting was called for the lunch hour so by the time Bram, Garret and Nick made it to their usual lunch table they only had a quick five minutes to say hello to everyone before Abby and Simon had to jet off for a drama meeting, as he was rushing past though Simon dropped a piece of paper on to Bram’s tray.

Bram waited until no one was looking before unfolding the piece of paper, it was a quick note scribbled in Simon’s messy handwriting

“Hey, we’ll probably need to get some details sorted so we at least have some sort of believable backstory at the wedding? Or at least I think we will. If you agree text me and let me know when you can meet up okay?”

Simon

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

  
Bram smiled to himself before folding the note carefully and storing it in a secure pocket in his bag, spending more time with Simon Spier? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The end of the school day rolled around pretty quick after that and thanks to a lack of soccer practice that week Bram managed to finally get home for a decent time, he cracked on with a couple of assignments and decided after a couple of hours to take a well-deserved break. He reached into his rucksack for his current book when his fingers brushed against the pocket where the note from Simon was stored.

Bram brought the note out of his bag and read it again, then again, then two more times for good measure. He quickly saved Simons number into his contacts before opening up a new text  
From: Abraham Greenfeld  
To: Simon Spier

Hey Simon? It’s Bram, Abraham Greenfeld I mean. I think your idea is really good, so um when are you free?

It's Abraham

Nervously he hit send, unsure why sending such a simple text was causing him such anxiety. It certainly wasn't because he had a massive crush on the boy with moon grey eyes that could switch from storms to constellations in the blink of…well an eye. No, it certainly had nothing to do with his feelings for the boy with a permanent bed head and a seemingly never-ending stash of Oreos…right?

Whatever the reason Bram didn't really breathe properly until he got a text through a couple of minutes later saying

From: Simon Spier  
To: Abraham Greenfeld

Don’t worry I only know one Bram there is no risk of me confusing you with anyone else so don't worry ;) I’m glad you think my idea is a good one so I’ll propose a slightly riskier one. I'm free this Friday, if you are as well, then how about you come to mine after school and stay over for the night. It means we don't have to rush through sorting a story out and you’ll be able to meet my parents which will just add into the whole effect. What do you think? Sorry if it’s too much!

Bram let out a squeal. A sleepover? At Simon’s? Holy. Shit. Bram quickly headed downstairs, knowing his mum would never agree to let him sleep over at someone's house that he had never even mentioned before Bram simply asked if on Friday he could sleepover at Garett’s house to which his mum readily agreed. Bram felt slightly bad for lying to his mum but considering this entire enterprise was built on an original lie of him having a boyfriend Bram figured he couldn't really dig himself in any deeper.

Happily, Bram’s fingers danced across the keypad has he text Simon back

From: Abraham Greenfeld  
To: Simon Spier

Glad to hear I’m the one and only! My mum said a sleepover on Friday is fine! I look forward to it!

From: Simon Spier  
To: Abraham Greenfeld

Of course, you're the one and only, who else would there be? Great, Friday it is then!

All through the week, the two boys texted each other back and forth and Bram couldn't help but feel there was a flirty element to their texts however Bram couldn't tell if that was just Simon playing his role well or if it was genuine. If he had less pride Bram would have probably asked Garett his opinion but he wasn't ready to go that low just yet.

Friday finally came round and as usual, Bram caught a lift to school with Garett. He hauled with him his overnight bag and his usual school bag to which Garett raised a single eyebrow

“Now either someones evolving into a full nerd or he's developing a bigger friendship circle and not telling me about it, should I be worried?”

Bram just shot his friend a grin “You think I'm the one going full nerd when you just used the word evolving before nine in the morning and second no, the amount of friends I have is the perfect amount thank you, I’m spending the night at Simon’s, not like that Garett please shut your mouth you’ll attract flies, we’re going to work on our dating backstory so we’ll be prepared for any questions next weekend”

Garett continued to stare in shock at his best friend

“Can you please drive we’re going to be late, oh and if anyone asks I’m having a sleepover at yours tonight, that's what I told my mum”

“Damn Greenfeld, sneaking out, lying about boys and sleeping around, my you have changed”

Bram punched him in the arm jokingly “ will you drive for heaven's sake, we’re going to be late”

With a laugh, Garett pulled away from the curb and they headed off to school.

All throughout the day, Bram couldn’t really sit still, he was full of nervous energy and while in reality, he knew that this was nothing more than a friendly sleepover Bram couldn't help but want, hope for different. Lunchtime rolled around and Bram all but floated over to their usual lunch table, Garett about steps behind him with a grin on his face that spelt trouble. Bram tried not to give it too much thought, but when had that ever helped?

They both sat down at their usual lunch table where the usual gang was already seated, that's when Garett opened his mouth.

“So, happy to finally see your sleepover buddy Bram?”

Bram immediately ducked his head down towards his plate as colour rose in his cheeks

“Laughlin I will kill you slowly if you don't shut your mouth right now”

“Oh come on all I did was ask-“

He didn't get much further than that as Bram jabbed him in the side with his fork

“I said shut up”

“You bitch I can't believe you stabbed me”

“I gave you fair warning, it’s hardly my fault you didn't listen!”

Their bickering had attracted the attention of the table by now

“What are you two arguing over” Leah's voice cut through the noise “and what's this about stabbing Garett? Can anyone get in on that or…?

Garett shot Leah a look before dropping the bombshell

“I was just asking Bram if he was excited for his sleepover tonight, I know its been a while since he's really hung out with anyone else but me”

“A shock for all us I can assure you”Simons' voice seemed to be heard by everyone despite the fact he was at the other end of the table and hadn't raised his voice. Garett choked on the drink he had just taken as Simon’s comment sunk in

“Hey!” he exclaimed indignantly

“Okay but backing up a little bit” Nick interjected, “Who’s Bram having a sleepover with?”

“Oh, he didn't tell you?” Garett asked smugly “He’s having a sleepover at Simons”

The entire table went silent for a couple of seconds before it was broken with a loud “Ow!” from Garett, everyone looked at him confused while he glared at Bram who was smiling at his bowl of food.  
  
Then as one Leah, Nick and Abby turned to look at Simon

“Wait a minute is that why you cancelled Friday on us?”

“Yeah didn't you say you had a thing?”

“What gives man?”

Simon to his credit didn't even flinch under the onslaught of questions

“Woah guys Woah, chill out, I wanted to do Friday I really did but me and Bram got paired for an assignment and I don't wanna drag his grades down so I promised him we would study together over the weekend”

“We’ve got plenty of Fridays to watch movies and eat Oreos but I don't have forever to get a grade that my mum won't kill me over you know?”

Seemingly satisfied with the explanation his friends all went back to their previous conversations, Garett muttered something under his breath about a “serious lack of drama, was everyone getting old?” and Bram shot a look over to Simon only to find his moon grey eyes were already resting upon him.

When Simon saw Bram looking at him he shot him a quick sly wink before going back to his dinner, blushing worse than ever Bram ducked back down to his plate and started on his lunch. Once they had finished Garett and Bram left the table, they had just left the table when Bram heard a cry from behind them.

“Bram! Bram!”

He turned to find Simon pushing his way through the lunch crowd, fighting his way over to the two of them, eventually, he managed to squeeze his way through to them and hunched over for a second trying to catch his breath.

“Wow I need to lay off the Oreos, geez” he puffed, before straightening up “Bram, sorry I forgot to totally arrange a meeting place for after school, are you okay to meet me by my locker once lessons give out?”

Bram just nodded his head enthusiastically, not quite able to look the smaller boy in the eye

“Great! See you later! oh and yeah bye Garett” and just like that he was gone again.

“Greenfeld you have got it bad Jesus man, if you two don't get together at the end of this fake dating charade I'm locking you both in a room until you admit how you both feel”

Bram muttered something under his breath

“Sorry what was that, I didn't quite hear it over the sound of your infatuation”

“I said you're lucky I don't have a knife”

Garett just laughed.

Brams last two lessons of the day seemed to drag by, three hours would pass but when he looked at the clock it had only been 20 minutes, what fool invented time anyway he thought to himself?

Eventually, the bell rang signalling the end of the day. Not wanting to appear too eager Bram slowed his pace remembering he had to dump his books in his locker and grab his bag with his change of clothes in, he was in such a rush that half of his locker fell out and he had to spend precious time shoving everything back in.

He slammed his locker closed and made his way to Simons locker where to his delight he saw the shorter boy was already waiting for him, bouncing gently on the balls of his feet. He grinned when he saw Bram approaching and Bram couldn't help but smile gently back

“Hey partner you ready to work on the project of a lifetime”

Bram chuckled “As ready as I’ll ever be!”

“Then let's do this thing”

With that, the boys headed out to Simons car, as they fastened in Bram turned to Simon

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay doing this? I mean I don't want you turning down time with your friends to help me get out of trouble with my mum”

“Bram honestly I meant it when I said I would help okay? Like I told everyone at lunch we’ve got plenty of Fridays to watch movies and eat Oreos, it's not every day a friend asks for help and its not very often when I'm in a position to actually help them, so hell yes I’m up for it”

Bram smiled gratefully

“Thank you, you're a good friend Simon”

They stared at each other before a colour rushed through Simons' cheeks and he cleared his throat

“Right then, time to go” and off they went to Simon’s house.

Once they arrived they were greeted warmly by Simons mum Emily who was very quick to set down the ground rule that she was not MRS SPIER but Bram was to call her Emily and after a quick thought that the bedroom door had to remain ajar, no matter how much Simon went red and begged her to stop, this wasn't like that. Emily didn't budge.

Happy to escape his mum for a bit before she could pull out baby photos (as if there weren't enough embarrassing ones on the walls anyway) he grabbed Bram by the sleeve and dragged him upstairs where he aimed a quick “hello” into Nora’s room before heading into his own.

Bram followed in closing the door slightly but not too much to incite the wrath of Mrs Emily Spier.  
When he turned around Simon had sprawled out on his bed and was plugging his phone into his speaker and not long after that the gentle sounds of Ruth B’s “Lost boy” were pulsing around the room.

Bram went and sat down at Simons desk and took in the room around him, he couldn't help but think it was perfectly Simon. Organised chaos was the term he would have to use. The room was definitely a mess but each mess was where it was supposed to be, yes the dirty clothes weren't in the hamper but they were all in a pile next to it, no the clean clothes weren't in the dresser but they were placed on top of it.

Papers were strewn all over the desk but they were in categories that clearly made sense to Simon, everything had an imperfect place filled in by Simons personality. It was cosy and homely and Bram had never felt more at ease than he did right now.

When he looked over at Simon again he found that he was already being watched, and he blushed slightly at the thought of being caught nosing around. Simon didn't even look mad though, in fact, he looked sheepish.

“Sorry about the mess” he apologised “I always mean to clean up but it never happens”

“Its perfect dude, you don't need to apologise to me, this is your room, have it how you like”

Simon shot a small smile in his direction “So..backstory?”

“Right, backstory,” Bram thought for a moment “How about…we got together about 2 months ago after being paired together for an English project and realising how we felt about each other, I asked you out when we went to get coffee one day?”

Simon nodded “that's pretty good I’ll admit but just one thing, do you really think you’d be the one asking me out? I'm pretty sure it would have been the other way round?” as he finished he shot a grin in Bram’s direction

Before either boy quite knew it they were deep in an argument about who would have asked who out and how they would have done it, an hour had passed and no other real progress had been made. At one point Bram got so animated in his argument he flung his arms out so hard he fell off Simons desk chair and landed on the floor with a thump.

The room was silent for a moment before it was broken with Simon bursting out into fits of laughter and giggles “I'm…s…s…sorry” he wheezed “but your face was perfect” and before they knew it both boys were in peals of laughter until neither of them could breathe, Emily walked into the room to witness both boys in silent bouts of laughter clapping and looking slightly like brain-addled seals.

She cleared her throat to announce her presence and both boys slowly came down from their high.

“Well,” she said “It’s so lovely to see you both working hard on your project if you can bear to come away from your work for ten minutes dinner is now ready”

“Okay, thanks Mum we’ll be down in a minute!”

“Thank you Mrs Spi- I mean Emily!”

Emily chuckled as she walked back down the stairs, she did so love to hear her kids laugh.

After a slightly awkward dinner (at least in Bram’s eyes) where introductions were made to the rest of the family, both boys headed back up to Simon’s room followed by Emily’s shout of

“Lights out by 10:30 boys and remember door open!”

Simon just rolled his eyes. They took up their original places and got back to discussing some of the finer details, such as Bram’s mums' name, if they had been on any dates, did their friends know etc.

At about 10 pm both boys were yawning and couldn't think of any other questions that might come up and started getting ready for bed, Bram grabbed his bag and headed to the bathroom leaving Simon to get changed in his room.

Something didn't feel quite right though, he was fine sleeping over at another person house (even if that someone was his crush), he hadn't eaten anything funny recently, he was quite confident in his plan now so what was wrong. He realised as soon as he got into the bathroom.

This wasn't the bag with his clothes.

This was his now empty school bag which would usually hold any homework he was going to work on over the weekend. This meant two things, his actual bag was in his locker at school and he'd switched them accidentally when all the stuff fell out of his locker and the second was that he now didn't have any clothes to sleep in.

He waited a couple of minutes, giving Simon a chance to finish getting changed and mulling over his current situation before heading back to Simons room and knocking on the door

“Come in” came the response

Bram opened the door carefully and he saw Simon do a double take

“Now either your pyjamas match your day clothes perfectly or you have a situation”

Bram blushed “The last ones most accurate, I switched out my bags and didn't notice until just now, I kind of feel like an ass”

“Hey now,” says Simon kindly “we all make mistakes, did I ever tell you about the time I was convinced I had my contacts in got to school and realised that no, I did not have my contacts in nor did I have my glasses”

Bram chuckled “No you didn't tell me that but I don't think I’ll ever let you live it down now”

Simon pulled a funny face at him before getting off his bed and moving over to his closet, he rummaged through it before pulling out an oversized t-shirt and some long PJ pants and handed them to Bram.

“They might not be the best fit but they're better than nothing right?”

Bram took them gratefully while trying to hide his embarrassment and headed back to the bathroom. On his way be bumped into Simons dad who took one look at the clothes in Bram’s arms and just shot him a knowing grin. Before Bram could even begin to explain Simons Dad had gone and Bram was now in full on embarrassment mode.

He got changed in double quick time before all but sprinting back to Simons room. He quickly hired inside and said to Simon

“We’re gonna have some explaining to do tomorrow” and gave him a quick rundown of what had happened. Simon just groaned lightly and shook his head

“My dad I swear, ever since I came out they've been eyeing me funny every time I even mention a guy, heck even Nick isn't allowed to sleep here without the door open anymore” he let out a small laugh “looks like you're not the only one lying about having boyfriend right now huh”

Bram started to apologise but Simon waved him off

“Hey I knew what I was getting into and I got lucky man, anyone who gets you for an actual boyfriend will be a lucky guy and, well, they'll be much more high standard than me so at least I get to pretend I dated someone as awesome as you okay?”

“What are you talking about Simon you're amazing and if anyone thinks you're low standard they're clearly not looking at the real you okay? I don’t know anyone half as selfless as you, someone, who always makes sure his friends are smiling and that he's never rude or unkind. You’re funny without trying and hell you're pretty damn smart too. So don't let anyone tell you different okay?”

Simon smiled shyly up at Bram “Thank you” he uttered quietly

With that he turned and pulled out the bed that slotted under his main bed, he grabbed the spare covers from the shelf and a couple of extra pillows before doing a “ta-da” motion with his hands to show off the finished bed to which Bram couldn't help but chuckle.

“Thanks,” he said and without further ado both boys clambered into their respective beds, once settled in Simon flicked the switch and plunged the room into semi-darkness, the only light coming from the hallway nightlight outside. The boys were silent for a moment and just when Bram thought Simon was asleep he heard his voice, small and tired in the dark

“Hey, Bram?”

“Hmm?” Bram responded

“I meant it you know, about being lucky to pretend, more than you know”

Bram didn't know how to respond to that, he was too tired and too confused to figure it out properly and before he knew it, he was asleep.

It didn't seem like 10 minutes had passed before his eyes were opening against his will and his ears were filled with the sound of Simon cursing on repeat

“Shit, shit, shit shit, shit, god damn bloody alarms, shit”

By the time Simon had found the snooze and off button Bram was fully awake and Simon was sitting flustered in the middle of his bed with a bed head even worse (but somehow more adorable) than usual and an incredibly sleepy look in his eye

His eyes met Bram’s and he shot him an apologetic smile

“I am so so sorry” he kept his voice low “I completely forgot to turn it off after we got done talking last night and I couldn't find the off button for a lifetime supply of Oreos apparently”

Bram chuckled “its okay don't worry, I’m not a big one for lie-ins anyway, sometimes it just feels like I’m wasting my day”

Simon gaped at him “How can you say that, its when your bed is the most comfortable and you can lie in any position and its comfortable and its just the best, especially if you’re reading!”

Bram thought for a moment “Alright then we’ll try it your way, pass us your favourite book at the moment and we’ll see if your hypothesis stands up

“geez Bram talk scientific to me more often” Simon joked with a wink, he reached across to the other side of his bed and passed Bram a book called “The Dangerous Art of Blending In” by Angelo Surmelis. After a quick read of the blurb, Bram settled back into a comfortable position (he could have been in any position because as Simon said they were all bloody comfortable) and began to read.

Simon settled back into bed too and grabbed his sketchpad and pencils, he didn't really tell anyone because this was kind of a secret hobby but Simon loved to draw, he drew his dog, he drew pictures of his friends, he'd even drawn the odd piece of fan art as well. Not that it would ever see the light of day, he was a pretty decent drawer, he just didn't feel like sharing is all.

But right now, seeing Bram drawn into the book he was reading, with the morning light starting to stream through his blinds and highlight the dust motes in the air, Simon knew this was something he just had to capture in his book.

Two hours passed before other forms of life began stirring in the house, two hours before both boys were roused out of their selective trances, Simon was just finishing off the shading on his drawing and Bram was about halfway through the book when Emily came and knocked on the door.

She smiled seeing both boys engrossed in their activities before cheerfully announcing

“Breakfast time boys!”

Both boys startled slightly before looking up at her and nodding, with a smile Emily headed downstairs where the delicious smells of Nora’s cooking was already perforating the air. Bram looked over at Simon who was busy adding the final touches to what he was working on.

“Whats the dude?” he asked

Simon blushed “Oh this it’s, um, its nothing, its nothing…how was the book?”

Bram looked at Simon for a moment with a raised eyebrow before giving into the subject change.

“Holy cow dude this books amazing, its so powerful and heart wrenching and moving and just holy shit wow, I can't believe I’m only half way through!”

Simon laughed “Yeah that was pretty much my reaction too, say if you haven't finished it then do you want to borrow it? I can never just leave a book half read it kills me”

‘Seriously I can borrow it? That would be awesome man thank you!”

“No worries!” Simon took a deep breathe “Holy shit Nora is making pancakes we gotta get down there before they all go, they're the best you’ll ever have I swear”

Both boys bounded out of bed and sprinted downstairs, they dashed into the kitchen just in time to see Nora serving up the first batch of pancakes, both boys grinned to each other before grabbing a plate and snatching up a couple of the pancakes each before Simons dad Jack got their first.

After breakfast, Bram was shooed out of the kitchen after offering to help clear up, so while Simon was roped into kitchen duty Bram headed back upstairs to change out of Simons clothes, which he realised with a flush of chagrin, that he had worn in front of Simons family all through breakfast. Geez, Simon was gonna get so much stick when Bram left, that’s if he wasn't getting any right now.

  
Bram entered Simons room and as he did he noticed the sketchbook lying on Simons bed. Quickly throwing a glance over his shoulder before closing the door, Bram crossed the room and picked up the sketchbook and flicked through it. He was blown away by the skill Simon showed in his drawings, still life drawings of flowers and trees, life drawings of his friends and family, drawings of what were clearly Harry and Draco and a drawing of…Him. Of Bram.

Bram sat on the bed in shock admiring the detail Simon had gone too, while he had been engrossed in his reading Simon had been picking up all of the little details from the way Bram was sat to the way the t-shirt fell slightly more over one shoulder than it did the other, the look of contentment on Bram’s face and the delicate but strong lines of his hands.

Bram was stunned, he didn't know that Simon even liked to draw let alone possessed the talent for it. Grabbing his phone and taking a picture of the drawing so he could look at it later, Bram placed the book back where he had found it and quickly put on his clothes from yesterday. He placed the pyjamas in the laundry basket, grabbed the book Simon said he could borrow then headed back downstairs to see if there was anything he could help with.

It turns out the timing was everything and the family had just finished putting everything away when Bram got downstairs. When Simon saw Bram was ready to go his face seemed to fall slightly before he perked back up and said

“let me just go get dressed and I’ll drive you home”

Before dashing upstairs and leaving Bram alone with his family. They all stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Bram managed to stutter out his sincerest thanks for having him and looking after him for the night.

Emily pulled Bram forward into a hug just as Simon was coming down the stairs and said in what seemed like a too loud voice

“You are more than welcome here anytime young man you've been an absolute delight to look after, come round anytime okay?”

Simon rolled his eyes as he walked past them both and grabbed his keys from the hook

“yeah Mum real subtle, come on Bram lets get you out of here”

With an embarrassed wave over his shoulder and one last thank you, Bram, followed Simon out to the car with his bag. They clambered in and Simon rested his head on the steering wheel for a moment before raising his head and shaking it with a sigh

“I love my family to pieces” he began “but they are sometimes just way too obvious”

“Obvious about what?” Bram questioned, Simon stared at him with his mouth open slightly for a second before pulling himself together

“Nothing, it doesn't matter, anyway do you think we got everything down for the wedding? its next week right?”

“Yeah that's right, and as far as our story goes I think we got everything down, I'm pretty confident with it anyway and I’m sure we’ll be more than capable of thinking stuff up on the fly if we need right?”

Simon smiled “Yeah I guess we will”

They pulled up around the corner from Bram’s house and Bram turned to Simon

“Thank you for doing this, I don't know if your family’s messing with you because they're making assumptions or if your friends are in a mood because you ditched them but I’m grateful”

“Hey, listen to me okay, my family has been ribbing me long before the thought of a boyfriend came into the picture and they'll probably be doing it right up until I'm in the grave and probably even then, and honestly? the gay boyfriend jabs are a hell of a lot easier to put up with than the straight ones I used to get, and don't worry about my friends they're chill okay”

Bram nodded gratefully and made to get out of the car, as he did he heard Simon say from behind him

“Oh, and Bram?”

Bram turned to peer back into the car

“My mum and dad said I was lucky to land someone as amazing as you, just so you know”

Bram turned beet red and stammered so much he couldn't get a response out

Simon just laughed “I'll see you on Monday okay? Text if you want to talk or anything and let me know what you think of the book yeah?”

Bram nodded and was just about to close the door when a thought came to him, he leant back into the car and said “Oh, Simon? Cool drawings, by the way, I really like mine” and before waiting for a response he closed the door and ran around the front of the car, not looking over his shoulder until he reached the corner of his road where he saw that Simon was still sat there at the curb, a small shocked smile on his face. With one last smile and a wave, Bram turned the corner and headed home.

It may have only been Saturday morning but boy what a weekend…the rest of the weekend past in a blur of fittings and testing different suits for Bram and a painstaking time of essays for Simon but before the boys knew it Monday morning rolled around again bright and early and the boys begrudgingly got ready for school.

At lunch Simon and Bram seemed to be the last ones to get there, both coming from different lessons at the other end of the school this wasn't all that unusual but what was slightly odd was the fact that the seating order had changed, something that hadn't happened since it had been established since the start of the school year.

Abby and Nick were still sat together, but now instead of space being open next to Leah for Simon and then a space next to Garett for Bram, there were now two empty spaces in the middle of the table right next to each other.

Simon was the first to arrive, as he took in this new seating arrangement, Bram joined him and voiced the question that Simon was thinking

“Wait, why has everyone moved, I feel like I'm in some different dimension”

Simon could only nod in agreement. It was Garett that answered them, his voice dripping with false innocence.

“We just decided to mix things up a bit is all and considering you two were the last to arrive you didn't really get a choice, sorry about that”

Bram narrowed his eyes at the same time that Simon narrowed his eyes at Leah who didn't even bat an eyelid. It was, Bram deducted, very difficult to intimidate Leah. Shrugging their shoulders the boys moved and sat down in the two empty spaces and started to eat. They had only got a few bites in though before they noticed that no-one else had moved and was completely silent.

“Is everyone…okay?” Simon ventured

As if a resume button had been pressed the whole table seemed to jump into action, Nick and Abby started chatting animatedly about soccer, Garett loudly announced what he thought of the cafeteria lunch that day and Leah just started chowing down. Both Bram and Simon looked at each other before once again shrugging their shoulders, it was a well-established fact that they had weird friends.

Slowly but surely the lunch table seemed to return to its regular self, Garett asked Bram how his weekend had gone and Bram ranted about how his mum had made him try on tux after tux after tux and if prom was anything like that then he wasn't going.

Leah and Simon were discussing which Hogwarts house everyone was in with Simon being Hufflepuff, Leah being Slytherin, Abby being Gryffindor, they couldn't decide if Nick was Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, Bram was Ravenclaw and Garett was a low key Slytherin. That last one was Leah’s suggestion and she refused to reveal her reasons why.

Simon couldn't help but overhear snippets of Bram’s conversation with Garett, he did, however, hear enough that he started low key panicking about what he was going to wear, he certainly didn't have wedding attire and hell he didn't even know if there was a theme. He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and fired off a quick text to Bram.

From: Simon Spier  
To: Abraham Greenfeld

Okay so you may think I'm rude listening into your conversation but I’m not doing it on purpose…mostly? just had a slightly important by which I mean the very important thought of urm….What kind of wedding attire am I supposed to WEAR BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING? ok, let me know thanks :)))

Simon slipped his phone into his pocket at the same time that Bram withdrew his from his trouser pocket. He took one look at the text, shot a quick look at Simon then burst into laughter, drawing the attention of most of the table.

“Everything alright there bud? Something to share with the rest of the group?”

Bram just shook his head, tears forming slightly at the side of his eyes as he gasped for breath.

“Doesn’t matter” he managed to wheeze out. Garett looked dubious but let it go and Bram took the opportunity to look back at Simon which caused him to burst out into peals of laughter again, Simon, knowing the cause of Bram’s laughter couldn't help but start laughing too and before they knew both boys were once again having full on laughing fits, thankfully remaining sat on their chairs this time.

The rest of the table looked on in befuddlement but before they could ask any questions the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. The rest of the group slowly got up and went to dump their trays before heading to their next lesson, Simon pretended to sort something out in his bag and Bram pretended to pick something up from the floor until they were alone.

“Yeah that was probably something we should have discussed, I’ll ring you tonight and we can talk more then okay?”

“Sure thing” Simon agreed. Bram shot him a smile and then they both went their separate ways.

Later that night Simons phone buzzed, announcing an incoming call. Saving the essay he was working on he picked up the call with a smile on his face, and greeted the caller “Hey!”

A friendly, warm tone greeted him from the other end “Hey, is now an okay time to talk or would you prefer me to call back later?”

Simon couldn't help but grin at Bram’s politeness, “Nows fine, I’m only working on an assignment, so you know, you're not interrupting anything too important”

A soft chuckle came down the phone line “Okay then if you're sure, so you wanted to know what you needed to wear right?

“Yes please, I really don't think your aunt would appreciate me turning up in harry potter robes”

“She may not but I would, I may just have to not tell you now”

“Bram I swear to Oreos if you don't tell me what I need to wear you can find yourself a new date”

Bram laughed down the phone “Okay, okay you got yourself a deal, it's a normal wedding event so like a formal tux, you know black tie event type thing?

Simon nodded before realising Bram couldn't see him “Okay sure that sounds manageable, I’ll get dad to take me to the store tomorrow and help me pick something out”

“Will he be okay with that?

“Are you kidding? he’s always going on about spending more bonding time together, he’ll be all for it. So don't worry, I’ll be all tuxed out before the end of the week”

“Oh I’m not worried, I’m just disappointed I can’t see you in the Harry Potter outfit”

“You’re not gonna let me live that down are you?”  
“Nope” came back the smug reply

“Dammit”

That should have been the end of the conversation, by all accounts all said and done but neither boy wanted to hang up, so when Simon asked Bram what he really thought of his drawings, it unlocked a box of conversation that didn't stop until nearly 12 that night. It still wasn't enough for either of them. Not that they said that out loud to each other.

Both boys bid each other goodnight, both wishing they could explain how they felt, both dreaming the other felt the same. Both completely and utterly clueless that they were both head over heels for their “Fake Boyfriends”.

Simons dad readily agreed to help Simon get a tux for the wedding he would be attending and to his credit, he even managed to keep the jokes to a minimum while they did it. Simon looked pretty dapper if he did say so himself, he only hoped he and Bram matched.

The week itself passed pretty quickly, their friends still acted pretty weirdly around them at school, forcing them to pair up or sit together whenever the opportunity presented itself. Maybe force was the wrong word, they were both happy to work together but were both slightly confused as to why their friends were pushing them together.

The boys spoke a couple more times on the phone that week and texted pretty consistently. Their last phone call was Friday, both boys were pretty nervous and Simon had called to finalise plans for tomorrow and to make sure everything was still okay.

“Okay so if you can make it to ours for around 9:30 am we can set off and be there in plenty of time?”

“9:30 sure no problem I can do that, that is possible, I will be there, I can do that, that's fin-“

“Simon, Simon! dude are you okay? it sounds like you're spiralling, are you sure your okay with this?”

“Who me? yeah I’m totally fine, I just have to convince people that I’m your boyfriend and also make them like me and convince them I’m good enough to actually you know be liked by you despite the fact your way out of my league and I’ve got to impress your mum and not let your family down an-“

‘Oh boy okay hang on this is the deep end huh, okay give me a second”

Next second a request to FaceTime came through on Simons phone and Simon hit accept before it even completed the first ring, Bram’s worried face came into view on screen and he had a full view of Simons very composed face.

Now if Bram didn't know any better he would have said Simon was fine, however, he’d had a crush on this boy for the better part of half a year and he could see in Simons' eyes the panic he was trying so hard not to show.

“Hey, Simon” Bram started softly, Simons' eyes focused on him a bit more “No matter what happens tomorrow, you could never ever let me down okay, the fact that you're willing to stick your neck out and help me says a hell of a lot about you as a person okay? And all this business about being good enough for me? you've got it the wrong way round, it'll be my privilege to have someone as amazing as you for a boyfriend even if it is just for a day okay? My mum will love you and my family will adore you, so just be yourself okay? that's why I lov- like you okay?

Bram started sweating as he nearly slipped up but thankfully Simon still seemed to be processing his earlier words

“You mean it, Bram?”

“Every word”

Simone let out that genuine megawatt smile that Bram loved so much.

“Well you're never wrong so I guess I’ll just have to believe you then won't I”

“That's right, now go set your alarm and go to bed, we don't need you with massive bags under your eyes for the big day right”

“Yes Mum” Simon responded sarcastically “But I’ll have you know my bags are designer so back off”

Bram just laughed “Goodnight Simon”

“Goodnight Bram” came the response before the connection closed.

 

  
Next morning dawned and Bram rose with the sun, or at least that's what it felt like, He was anxious, he couldn't lie but not for himself but for Simon. Last night had shown him just how vulnerable Simon really was and he didn’t want to make things more difficult for him.

Bram got dressed into his suit and realised that he hadn't actually told Simon what colours he was wearing, oh well, it was up to fate if they clashed or matched now. At 9:25 Bram was pacing up and down the corridor by his front door nervously anticipating Simon’s arrival. At precisely 9:30 am there came a sharp rap on the front door.

Bram jumped, startled out of his nervous trance and pulled open the door. As he took in the sight on the other side of his door all the breath seemed to leave his body. Simon was in a word. Magnificent. Even then the word failed to capture how he looked from Bram’s eyes but no other word even came close.

Simon was wearing a dark navy suit, with a white shirt and light blue tie, which complemented Bram’s outfit of a light blue suit, dark navy shirt and white tie perfectly. Bram cleared his throat

“When I said 9:30 you really took that to heart huh?”

“I’m not gonna lie I've been stood on your doorstep for the past seven minutes because I wanted to make sure I was right on time”

Bram just laughed “You look really good by the way, like really really good, the colours really suit you”

Simon blushed and muttered a small “Thank you” before complimenting Bram’s look in return

“Hey, at least we match right?”

“That's true” Bram chuckled “Oh sorry please come in, sorry”

Simon stepped past Bram, both boys holding their breath slightly at the close contact but then Simon was passed and both boys were in the clear.

“My mother is just finishing getting ready and then we’ll be okay to go so let's wait in the living room okay? Can I get you a drink or anything?”

“No, I’m okay thank you” Simon responded before quietly adding on “hey if we're pretending to be boyfriends don't you think we should do like boyfriend stuff like holding hands and stuff”

Bram blushed as Simon mentioned “Boyfriend stuff” but nodded his head in agreement “yeah you've got a good point actually”

Simon couldn't help blushing as well, Bram put both his hands on Simons' shoulders, “Are you sure you’re okay with this? Honestly, if you're not its fine”

A steely look entered Simons eyes as he said “I didn't spend all this week mentally preparing to date the hell out of someone for a day to fall at the final hurdle, let's do this thing”

Bram chuckled and then abruptly stopped as he heard his mothers' footsteps coming down the hall

“Bram? Where are you, honey?”

“In the living room Mum” he called back.

Just before Bram’s mother entered the room Simon shot his hand down Bram’s arm and took hold of his hand, squeezing it gently. Bram’s mum walked in and her eyes immediately shot to the boys joined hands. She smiled warmly before greeting Simon

“Hello dear, you must be the boyfriend, I'm sorry I don't know your name yet, Abraham here has been quite tight-lipped about the entire thing”

“That's no problem ma’am allow me to introduce myself, my name is Simon Spier. And please don't be too hard on Bram about not saying much, that was down to me, I didn't have the best of coming outs and wanted to keep things quiet for as long as possible”

Bram’s mums face softened as she listened to Simon speak

“Oh really its no problem at all but I can say it’s wonderful to finally meet you Simon and how dashing you look too, the both of you match quite well I must say”

She shot a quick look at the clock before going,

“Oh we must be going, I promised everyone I’d be there to help calm your Aunt down Abraham, you know how she gets”

With that, they all piled into the car and headed off to the wedding. After about an hour and half drive, 300 questions and future survey the three of them finally arrived at the venue, set up was in full swing and there in the middle was a woman in a fluffy white dress who looked like she was about 24.5 seconds from pulling her hair out.

“Oh boy she's at it already” Sighed Bram’s mum “okay boys come say hello and introduce yourselves and then you can walk around the gardens for a bit, just be back here no later than 12:15 okay”

“Sure thing mum”

“No problem Ms Greenfeld”

Came the responses. Together they made their way through the whirlwind of wedding props, and gear and came to rest at the centre in front of the lady (Bram’s aunt) who couldn't quite seem to stop twitching. After getting her attention Bram’s mum introduced Simon who in return greeted her warmly, watched Bram give his aunt a hug and then told his Aunt of his relationship, Simon, as he stepped back he took Simons hand in his.

His Aunt shot them a gigantic grin, pulled them into a crushing hug and then allowed herself to be led away by Bram’s mum who made a shooing gesture towards the two boys as they walked further into the venue.

Bram, still holding Simon’s hand, gestured towards the hedge archway that indicated the opening of the gardens.

“Fancy taking a walk, boyfriend?”

Simon laughed “Lead the way my love lead the way”

Bram grinned in return.

“So you’ve successfully won over my mother and my aunt, keep going at this rate and my entire fancy will be heartbroken when we break up, no matter how amicable me breaking it off with you in a coffee shop would be”

“Okay again you say correct stuff and then something really stupid, if we were to break up it wouldn't be you breaking up with me but the other way round”

“That is so not true, you don't think I'm capable of dumping someone?”

“Oh no I think you're perfectly capable of dumping someone, you just can't dump me”

“Oh? and whys that?”

“Ha, please you think you can say something horrible to my face? go ahead try it, I dare you”

Bram looked up at Simon only to find he had widened his eyes comically and was making the cutest pouty face he had ever seen. He stared for a few moments before forcing himself to look away.

“Alright puss in boots, put they eyes away you win, well done”

Simon laughed and gripped Bram’s hand a bit tighter, seemingly subconsciously

“Ha that's right of course I do, wait why am I happy about winning breaking up with someone, I don't want to break up”

Bram just chuckled “Don't worry about it babe we’ll think about that later” and bumped his shoulder against Simons. Simon leaned into Bram slightly and they settled into a comfortable silence which before they knew it was being broken by the sound of hoards of cars and people arriving.

Simon looked at his watch “Oh boy” he said “time for the main event” Bram squeezed his hand tightly and said

“I’m here okay, and I’m not going anywhere”.

Simon smiled “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on letting go”

Hand in hand the boys headed back across the gardens to greet the what seemed like hundreds of guests that had poured in for the wedding. Simon was introduced to cousins, seconds cousins, grandmas, great grandmas, uncles, godfathers, godmothers, friends of the family and friends of friends before he finally seemed to catch a break.

He and Bram headed into the church and found their designated seats in the fourth row, where Bram’s mother was already seated. She smiled warmly at the boys and checked up on them quickly before the Vicar at the front of the church began speaking. Now Bram loved weddings, he thought they were sweet, romantic gestures but wow they could be boring and apparently, Simon felt the same way.

The boys kept shooting looks at each other out of the side of their eyes and whenever they caught the other doing it a smile would grace each of their faces. In retrospect both boys could have let go of each other's hands for the ceremony, neither of them did or wanted to for that matter.

The ceremony finally finished and Bram and Simon finally let go of each other's hands to applaud the new bride and groom, but as soon as they let go it felt like a connection was broken, both boys wanted to retake the others hand but were scared to make that leap.

Then it was time for the afterparty, everyone headed over to the pavilion that had been set up on the grass and found their seats. Simon and Bram were seated on a table with Bram’s Mum, Grandma and two cousins who he had never really spoken too before.

Dinner was served three-course meals that neither boy really knew how to pronounce but tasted pretty good. One of the cousins went off to find her friend and Bram’s mother and grandma engaged in conversation leaving Bram, Simon and the cousin to fend for themselves.

Simon squeezed Bram on the shoulder and lent in close “I have to use the restroom, do you know where they are” Bram squeezed Simons hand with his free one and pointed to the other end of the tent. Simon shot him a grateful glance and with one last squeeze headed off in that direction.

That's when the cousin chose to strike, Bram knew she had been shooting him and Simon looks all night but not wanting to put Simon in any more discomfort he hadn't said anything. She clearly had no reservations about speaking her mind now though

“You two are gross together has anyone told you that?

Bram tried to ignore her

“But I suppose if you're both happy going to hell together then its fine right?”

Bram looked over at his mum and grandma but they were both so deep in conversation they were oblivious to anything else

“When did you decide to become gay?”

That was the one that struck Bram

“Decide? Decide? We don't decide this shit you imbecile, why the hell would we decide to do something that is potentially life threatening? I could be arrested or killed in some countries because of close-minded people like you!”

“Oh please, there's a reason this “Lifestyle” is illegal and you know it”

“No actually I don’t, I see nothing wrong with me or Simon so if you could kindly shut your mouth it’d be appreciated”

Bram could tell he was getting heated and his voice was raising because his Mother and Grandmother had started turning in his direction, he was rising to her bait but he couldn't help it.

“Why should I shut up, I’ve got freedom of speech and my rights, it's in my rights to tell you that what you are is wrong and you’re an abomination to human nature”

Before anyone on the table could even react to what this girl had said she suddenly found herself drenched head to toe by the giant pitcher of water that Simon was currently holding over her head. There was a look on his face that Bram had never seen before and when he spoke it wasn't quite the Simon he knew

“Well looking at the way your makeups been done tonight honey you're the real abomination here, remember, just cos your pretty on the outside doesn't mean you're nice on the inside love. I suggest you get to work changing that attitude of yours or you’ll find there's more jugs of water where that came from, now scram bitch”

As the girl grabbed her bag and jacket and made to leave, Simon grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear, she visibly paled before yanking her arm out of his grip and sprinting out the tent.

“Oh darn now we don't have anything more to drink, sorry about that everyone let me go grab another jug”

‘No no Simon its quite alright you sit down for a minute, I need to go and have a word with my sister about who she invited on her guest list anyway, clearly, some people didn't get a memo”

With a warm smile in his direction, she got up and stalked off towards the head table

“Oh no, am I in trouble, should I go? Simon panicked to Bram

“In trouble? Young man I feel like you deserve a medal for that Performance” interrupted Bram's grandmother “People like that are despicable and she deserved to be put in her place, well-done sonny, well done”

Both Bram and Simon gaped at his Grandmother

“Oh come now I’m old, not stupid, whats a couple of people being happy together gonna do to harm me eh? Nothing its all a load of bullshit, you love who you love and that's that!”

“Grandma have I ever told you how much I love you,” Bram said in awe

“You could stand to mention it more” His grandma responded with a wink

“Now Simon, I have a couple of questions for you regarding my favourite grandson if you don’t mind”

Simon exchanged a look with Bram before turning back to the elderly lady

“Of course ma’am, ask away”

She smiled “Now I've seen you're willing to defend his honour incredibly well but what I want to know is why?

Simon took a moment to think his answer through

“Because there is no one else who deserves it more, Bram works selflessly to help others and better himself, he never limits himself to what is but dreams of what could be. He helps people improve themselves, their grades, their goals and those are rare qualities to find in people these days. He pays attention to the small details while never losing sight of the big picture. He's funny without trying, compassionate but not naive. He’s helped me see a better side to myself and I can only hope that I help him in some way, to repay all of the things he's done for me”

All the while he spoke Simons eyes never left Bram’s even when Bram ducked his head down to the table, as he ended his speech Simons' hand found it’s way to squeeze Bram’s shoulder and Bram’s hand came to rest down on top of it.

“Now that was a good answer, I’m impressed Simon, I really am. I have just one more question if you will”

Bram tensed, he and Simon had planned for this sort of questioning and he was sure it was only due to Simons theatre training he had stayed this calm and composed when coming up with his lie, how would he cope with making up another?

To Simon’s credit, he didn't even look flustered “Of course, whenever you're ready”

“When did you realise how you felt about my grandson?”

Bram’s eyes flew up to Simons just in time to see him freeze. He was just about to tell his grandma to stop with the questioning when he felt Simons' hand slide down his arm and squeeze reassuringly

“It’s difficult to say when this particular feeling started, it grows every day so how I feel today will surely pale in comparison to tomorrow. If you're asking when I started being attracted to Bram I’d have to say it was about 6 months ago? When I saw him playing soccer for the first time, he's got some killer soccer calves, but I really started to fall around 5 months ago, we started hanging around a bit more and he sat our table, we were paired up for assignments together. I came to love the feeling of knowing he was gonna be at my table or in my next class, couldn't wait to hear his next words or see the smile on his face. It only grew from there until I realised I was head over heels for my grammar nerd soccer star boyfriend. Does that answer your question?

Bram hadn't been able to look away from Simon during his entire speech yet Simon hadn't been able to look at Bram once, was his lie really that strong?

Brams grandmother sensed nothing wrong or amiss though as she clapped her hands over her heart “Well ain't that just the sweetest thing” She exclaimed “Oh you'll fit in just fine around here, yes sir you will” and with that she got up and toddled off to join another group table of elderly ladies who all looked very happy just to be sat down by this point.

Night had moved in while Simon and his grandmother had been talking, space had been made for a dance floor and multicoloured lights now pulsed throughout the tent. Bram and Simon watched in silence as the bride and groom had their first dance and then after that, the music became a bit more upbeat.

A couple of songs in Simon perked his head up slightly and he grabbed Bram’s arm

“Come on! I know this one!”

Bram tried to protest that he didn't dance but Simon wasn't having any of it. It certainly wasn't a dance you could slow dance to but Simon and Bram stood in the traditional slow dance position one hand on each other's hip and the other held out to the side as the lyrics from “Just my type” by Liv Keegan pulsed around them

_**Tell me that you love me at the end of the first date** _  
_**I’ll pretend I didn't hear that** _

“I'm sorry about my Grandma, she can be a bit invasive”

Simon just laughed

“I'm impressed though that you can lie on the spot like that”

Simon just stared at Bram, entertained exasperation in his eyes

_**Heard your mother on the phone yelling that it was too late** _  
_**Hung up said it was your best friend** _

Bram stared back at Simon

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Simon shook his head

“Oh Bram, the best kind of lies come easiest when all you tell is the truth”

_**Unimpressed with this shit that you tried to prove** _  
_**It’s no use cause I’m hopelessly into you** _

Bram just stared in shock at Simon. He couldn't quite comprehend what he was hearing.

Simon spoke again

“It’s okay if you don't feel the same way, I’ll understand if you don’t. But I don't think I could have left here without saying how I really felt, it wouldn't have been fair on either of us I don't think. But yeah I was telling the truth, Bram. Every word.

Bram was still speechless, Simon liked him? Like “Like liked” him as Garett would say

_**Falling off of the roof climbing out of my window** _  
_**It’s okay you're still my Romeo** _

Simon started to pull away but Bram pulled him close

“Oh no, I spent so long thinking that this would never actually happen and you think you're gonna just leave me on the dance floor?

Simon gaped

“Wait what?”

“You think you were the only crushing hard as we went into this Simon?”

_**Talk is cheap, you're the real thing** _  
_**You give me, expensive feelings** _

“You’ve had to spill your guts tonight so I think its only fair I spill mine. You are one of the brightest, kindest people I know Simon, you never fail to light up a room and make everyone in it feel included in the joke. You're funny without ever being cruel, you see the best in people long after everyone moves on because you know that deep down everyone has a best side. You smile even when your hurt because you accept that that's how things are but you're never afraid to speak up for a friend in need. You’re about five feet something tall but your 11 foot full of bravery and love. Your eyes line the sky every night I look at the moon and I can't help but think of storm clouds and constellations every time you look at me. You help me dream big and out loud, around you I can breathe so easily you're like my very own breathe of fresh air. From your permeant bed head to sneakered feet I love every part of you and that won't ever change”

**_Boy you make me lose my head but_ ** **_I don't even mind_ **  
**_Something in the way I can't explain don't ask me why_ **

Simon just stared up at Bram with tears unshed in his eyes before he wrapped his arms around Bram and buried his face his chest. In an automatic reaction Bram leant down and laid his head on top of Simons and they stayed like that swaying, out of sync to the beat of the music but neither of them really caring

They stayed like that for a good couple of verses, pulling apart only when Bram felt Simon say something against his chest

“What did you say?”

And in time with the song Simon said

_**“And you're such a fool,** _  
_**But I'm such a fool for your love”** _

  
Bram grinned at his now real-life boyfriend and not just pretend one

“Dammit, you were right!”

Simon looked up at Bram questioningly

“In your own way you did ask me out, I fell off that chair for nothing”

Simon stared at Bram for a couple of seconds before collapsing to the floor in splits of laughter. Bram sank down with him, the looked at each other and everything else faded away as both their eyes fluttered closed.

It was there in the semi-darkened corner of the dance floor that the boys shared their first kiss, tender, sweet and full of unspoken promise. In fact, only one promise was spoken out loud.

“Don’t tell Garett or we’ll never hear the end of it okay?”

Everyone found out anyway, but then again the boys didn't care.

Just my type, just my type  
Just my type, just my type  
Just my type, just my type


End file.
